


The Meaning of De

by PROMARE_D_Lost (PRMR_drgn_Lost)



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angst and Romance, Author Projecting onto Lio Fotia, Burning Rescue Lio Fotia, But I imagine that’d be Galo’s reaction purely due to naivete, Exposition, Forethot was actually the idiot the whole time, Galo Thymos Not Being an Idiot, Galo Thymos was never an idiot end rant, Galo is impulsive cocky inpatient and reckless tho, Huh I'm surprised no one's tagged that yet, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I didn't know the Protective Galo Thymos tag existed and I like it, I spelled inpatient with an m which is right? Oh my gosh, M/M, Minor Canonical Character(s), More at never, Not Beta Read, Protective Galo Thymos, Slow Romance, Spoilers, Yes I know how one scene looks, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29893968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PRMR_drgn_Lost/pseuds/PROMARE_D_Lost
Summary: When you grow up as a British noble, sometimes you learn some things, like Latin, that are mildly useful in day-to-day life. Sometimes, they're vital. And, when you were supposed to grow up in a Greek-Japanese family but became orphaned instead, sometimes you don't learn those things.But that's alright. If anyone can figure all this out, it's those two, together.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	The Meaning of De

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Piecesofarose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piecesofarose/gifts), [Liv_Carter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liv_Carter/gifts).
  * Inspired by [#Promare #Galolio PRMR_drgn_Lost commission](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/772314) by Piecesofarose. 



> Well, when one of your favorite fan artists says that they're interested in reading a WIP of yours from... *references iPhone Notes and Microsoft Word documents* ... 1/3/2020, then you black out, for, like, 8 hours and finally get it done! :D :D :D [By the way, holy crap, can we talk about how Piecesofarose is also an accomplished writer here and I had NO IDEA??? Do I look stupid now??? Also, Liv, I love you and thought you'd enjoy this <3]
> 
> Some important notes:  
> ~ The significance of de became apparent due to someone else’s noticing it (I don’t remember whom anymore) in the early days of this fandom. So, it’s not my idea, but I’d never seen anyone write a fic about it, and I still haven’t that I know of, which I felt was odd.  
> ~ I HC Remi as speaking multiple languages, because he's stereotyped as the traditional, or more socially-acceptable-like, smart one. I remember seeing once from an interview that Promare is based off of NYC/Manhattan, and, well, lots of different people from lots of different cultures live there, so you'd need someone to be able to communicate in more than just English or Japanese, in Galo's case, or all the computer coding languages, in Lucia's case... I see him as learning or being fluent in ASL, Braille and Morse code, Spanish, and Mandarin.  
> * Meis does as well now, I guess! Well, I’ve heard he awakened in Texas, so that could easily be realistic.  
> ~ The British Lio bit is from another interview. (Or the same one, I don't remember.) The Cuban Gueira bit is my HC based on that same interview: He awakened in Miami, and 70% of us are Cuban (305 represent! 😄). Plus, it’s an excuse for someone in this cast to consume pastelitos, café con leche, and tostada 😋  
> * On that note, there are no significant cultural mentions in this fic.  
> ~ I HC Galo as Japanese and Greek because of the lyrics of Inferno, about a grandfather vs the Japanese firefighters of old, and his first name potentially having European origins as well as his last name being Greek, respectively.  
> ~ Lio may be OOC in this (see the projecting tag), although I can justify it as being in-character with the following: Lio could easily come to think that he serves no particularly special purpose where the Burnish are concerned, now that his powers are gone. Just, objectively speaking. Also, it is hard to love yourself, and then find reason for other people to love you, when you dislike or resent yourself. Lio seems to be the type to feel guilty about things, and I think his perceived failure to protect the Burnish, as well as the result, will probably be weighing on his mind for awhile. But again, projecting, ultimately. I just really feel like... after the movie, he'd be in a similar place to where I am now.  
> * On that note, I may never edit this. I'm trying to be less hard on myself, in terms of being a perfectionist with my writing. If not, I'll probably never publish the rest of my WIPs, which is more important to me. To know I can do that would be nice...  
> ~ According to the official, big Promare stickers, Lio de Galon and Galo de Lion have tildes! That was really interesting for me to learn!

A couple of days after the Second Great World Blaze, after all the Burnish have been freed from the confines of the Parnassus and everyone displaced by it has been given food and water and shelter, Burning Rescue Squad 3 is finally able to get their energy levels back up with a communal lunch.

The squad, Galo in particular, takes advantage of this to discuss the circumstances that led up to said event. He’d invited Lio to join them, so everyone could properly introduce themselves to each other and he could tell his side of the story himself (because it’s not his place, and he’s proud to be his partner), but he’d had urgent business to attend to, of course. The only reason he hadn’t gone with him was because the other two Burnish who were with him during the pharmaceutical raid had at long last recovered enough to go with him. And he knew, from firsthand experience, that their combined forces wouldn’t run into any problems.

With a flurry of exaggerated hand gestures and title cards and cartoon drawings behind him, Galo’s arrived at: “… and then I named it the Lio de Galón!”

Remi, the resident translator, chokes on a swig of coffee. When he doesn’t stop after a couple of seconds, he’s addressed by several variations of “You alright?”, and Varys pounds his back until he puts a hand up and wheezes. Then he wipes his mouth, shows off a grimace, and turns his face away from them, faintly red.

He doesn’t say anything, so they assume he’s fine, and Galo opens his mouth to continue when he mutters loud enough for them to hear, “… Galo, you don’t know what ‘de’ means, do you?”

“Huh? It means something?! I’ve just seen some of the stuff they sell at the pizza parlor with that word in it, plus Lio de Galón sounds cool!”

The rest of the squad groans and sighs, but he, Aina, and Varys look to Remi for further explanation, while Lucia starts fiddling with her phone. It’s a compact thing, built to withstand any damage, covered in a case with bright-colored sand that moves around when you shake it. A couple of seconds later, she’s grinning, her pointy molars standing out.

She whips around, glaring at him with the deadliest expression any of them have ever seen on her. “Don’t you dare ruin my fun by telling him.”

Galo’s smile drops, and his eyes narrow. “Hey! I’m right here!”

“Lucia, I’ve told you so many times before that your shenanigans are unacceptable! In this case especially, he needs to know! If he said that to Lio, then it’s irresponsible – !”

“Yeah, yeah, but he can do his own research if he really wants to like I just did, can’t he?” She suddenly leaps off their couch, gets behind him, and shoves him out the room, somehow making sure that neither of them trip.

“I’m still here?!”

* * *

True to her word, Lucia and Remi don’t tell him.

But also, he does search online for the meaning of de (using Google). The first three results don’t seem like they would’ve caused his reaction…

The fourth, however, reads:

“preposition. from, of (used in French, Spanish, and Portuguese personal names . . .”

The Lio from Galo and Galo from Lio? No, that doesn’t sound right, either… then…

_Oh._

* * *

He keeps telling their story to his squad-mates until it’s through. Then it’s back to work as usual, and he doesn’t say anything about the de incident for another six months.

To equal parts chagrin and gratitude and happiness, the in-shambles court system allowed Lio to be released on his own recognizance in the days leading up to his trial. Well, Captain Ignis’, really, but it’s better than nothing. And to the surprise of a lot of people (and not to the surprise of a lot of other people), he’s split every day since between giving his all to the restoration efforts, as his squad’s newest rookie, and fighting for the Burnish. Galo genuinely gets mad all the time that he can’t help him with a lot of that and that the general population gives him such a hard time for it, but he’s prouder of him for it, and he supports him how he can. A warm cup of coffee here; proteins and water bottles there, when he absolutely refuses to have or doesn’t have time for a sit-down meal; blankets here; a squeeze to the shoulder and a warm smile there…

What was weird before, and is leading to a suspicion now, is that Lio allows all of that, from him and maybe Gueira and Meis (as he learned they’re called a couple of weeks after the Blaze) only. He still refuses his help sometimes, just at the start, but he smiles at it a lot, and sometimes, he blushes. Sometimes, he squeezes his hand on his shoulder back with that same smile, that same redness.

So Galo makes a decision and uses up all of the little patience he has (it’s fine, he can admit to that one thing!) until he decides he’s ready.

It’s the dawn of a new day. As everyone’s filing out of the FDPP for their daily assignments, Galo, being Lio’s ride (the courts didn’t give him permission to use any kind of vehicle on his own, which is a shame because Lio calling shotgun on his bike is always exhilarating), turns around to face him on their way to the garage. And he says, “Lio, can I ask you about something I’ve been curious about for a while?”

He gives him that same look he gave him on the Parnassus, before they fist-bumped. He’s done that a lot since then, and he… really likes the friendly challenge in his eyes and smile when he has.

“Oh? As long as it’s not another silly question about Burnish diets, I suppose you can.” He jokes about those sorts of things now, as a way of reclaiming his present from the horrors and terrors of his past. (From the start, Galo’s always followed his lead with that, carefully making sure to avoid that kind of humor himself.)

For once, Galo doesn’t pretend to take the bait. Instead, Lio sees a shift in the pink and blue of his eyes, a glint, the beginnings of his burning firefighter soul coming alive… earlier than usual. What –?

“Do you know what ‘de’ means?”

“‘De?’” It takes him a second, and then his face and expression fall.

“Lio?”

Ah, he’s been waiting for this. But with how long it’s been, he was hoping he’d forgotten.

It’s bad enough that Gueira and Meis had eventually dragged that particular detail out of him. What with Gueira being Cuban and Meis being a polyglot due to his love of music of all kinds, they’ve been teasing him about it for months. As it turns out, having the real deal question it is already, definitely worse.

He does take a little bit of time to recompose himself, and when he lifts his head, Galo’s surprised to see that his eyes are downcast and he’s frowning. “Lio?”

“Yes, I do. Are you asking because you do now, where the Lio de Galón and Galo de Lión are concerned?”

“Haha, yeah, I messed that up, didn’t I?” Galo scratches the back of his head sheepishly.

“No, _I’m_ sorry.”

“Huh?” He lets his hand fall to his side. “For what, exactly?”

“I knew what it meant back then. And I realized you probably didn’t, what with your comment about your humility in putting my name first.” He closes his eyes and chuckles. “How ironic, the Lio of Galo sounds more conceited on your end than the Galo of Lio.”

He’s turning red, about to protest that that was what he was apologizing for, except that he’s still trying to figure out what Lio’s reaction is about.

“I didn’t mean to imply anything with it; admittedly, I got caught up in the heat of the moment.” (Galo wants to laugh at the seemingly-obvious pun. He doesn’t.) “I never should’ve said that so casually, particularly without your knowing. Again, I’m sorry.”

“No problem! I can understand that.

But then, what about now?”

A couple of beats pass. Lio’s eyes widen. Galo’s expression now is the same one he had when they were the Galo de Lión – as he’s come to know him better, he’s learned that this is how he looks when he’s about to give something his all, the “jokester” part of his personality making way for the mature, serious one.

Something foreign and charged pools in his stomach. His heartrate quickens as his eyes return to their normal size. “‘What about now?’ What are you saying?”

“I’ll be yours, if you’ll be mine.”

He can’t help it, it takes him a second and then he’s laughing.

Galo doesn’t move a muscle, but he easily notices that some of his determination, his light, has faded. He puts himself together so that he won’t get the wrong idea, letting out a couple of snorts before he manages to smirk.

“You’ll be mine? I’ll be yours? You forget yourself, Galo Thymos.” An undertone of resentment is roiling in his voice. “Not only do I know for a fact that neither of us have time for dating, but –” Now, he’s full-on glaring at him, like in the cave. “– I also don’t appreciate such insulting humor. What, exactly, is there about me to love?”

Galo’s eyes dilate, and he tilts his head at him. “Wait. What? Are you serious?”

“Do I look or sound like I’m joking to you?”

“Then… I mean, friends smile at each other, so that’s that, but why have you been blushing around me? And why did you ever take my hand in yours?”

“… I was indulging you, and myself. I’m not stupid, I owe you a debt that I may never be able to repay –” At that, he looks like he’s been struck, but Lio continues, “–relax, I know you’d never take advantage of me like that, I’m just trying not to owe you anything in my own way – plus you’re obvious about your feelings for me.”

His face does loosen, back into that expression from before, and Lio sneers:

“Well, in saying that, I am an idiot, aren’t I?” A bitter smile flickers on his face before it falls. “If I gave you the wrong impression, then I truly, deeply apologize. But you and I are never going to work out.”

“‘Never going to work out? Who are you to decide that on your own?” Galo clenches his teeth, and Lio tries hard not to get distracted by those damn pointy molars of his, like he’s ready to take a bite out of anyone. Himself included (hah, in his dreams, maybe). “Wait, wait, let’s go back to the other thing first. ‘What is there about you to love?’”

“Yeah.”

“… Maybe you are,” Galo mumbles, but he says so… fondly? Like he’s smiling?

“Say that again?!” Lio walks over to him, fists clenched at his sides, and gets in his space like the first time they met.

“I said, maybe you are! Maybe you’re right!” Of course, Galo follows his lead, crossing his arms.

“What?!”

“How can you be so blind as to not see why _so many people_ love you, Lio?!”

“… What?” Lio’s expression falters. “No, you’re wrong, that’s wrong. The Burnish don’t actually love me like that, _maybe_ some of them respect me because of my efforts on their behalf. But that’s all they are. Efforts. Anyone else could do any of the things that I’m doing, and much better to boot, for sure. I can barely lift anything, I can barely shield anyone, I have no idea how to run a nonprofit or network, or apply for grants, or what legal protections already exist for them and what ones don’t, or so many other things…”

“I think one of the reasons why I was such a powerful Burnish was because I became one when I was a child.”

“Oh, wow… I’m sorry. Not that that happened, but because I bet you had to go through a lot back then, being so young.”

Lio’s smile is faint. “Yeah, thank you. My parents disowned me, among other things.” He frowns. “What I mean to say with that is, being Burnish was all I’d ever known for most of my life. Now…” He lifts a hand to his face. Nothing happens. “… I’m weak, and practically useless. I don’t even know who I am anymore. So how _could_ you have found things about me to love?”

A couple of beats pass, and Galo simply sighs. Then a trill runs through his body and he warms to his ears as he gently goes to hold his one hand in both of his.

“G-Galo?”

His eyes are twinkling, but he’s smiling softly. “Sorry to tell you this, Lio, but you’ve never been more wrong.” Then his fire returns to his eyes. “The Burnish _do_ love you, and they do, probably like me, because you _were_ the only one of them to do the things you did for them, and are doing for them now. You took on the whole world for them, against almost-impossible odds. As a kid, you shouldn’t have had to – well, that’s true regardless of how old you were – no one would’ve blamed you if you hadn’t, but you chose to anyway. Some people wouldn’t have blamed if you didn’t hold back, and I think I can understand that viewpoint, but you did anyway: ‘Burnish don’t kill.’ And you’re still going. You could’ve easily passed the reins to someone else when you volunteered to go to jail, but you bounced right back, and you didn’t.”

“They love you because you’re a leader. They love you because you’re adaptable, selfless, loyal, and caring, and because you have sparks of hope in you still that can kindle theirs, haha. After all, if you didn’t, then why would you keep coming back here every day? And in this day and age, not nearly everyone can say that about themselves.”

“In other words…” Galo beams at him. “… you have a burning soul like mine! Aaand I’m here if you need me to kindle yours sometimes, like this!”

Holy shit. Lio can’t look at him, his face and ears are hot – he’s not burning in real life, is he? No, Galo would’ve put him out –

“Wait, kindle my burning soul?” he redirects. “I thought your specialty was stopping fires, firefighter.”

“Well, yeah, and that hasn’t changed! But Lio, I started a fire for you, remember?” His smile is sweet. “Why would I put it out, and especially so late in the game? Plus,” his expression hardens, “I’ve learned since then that some fires should burn. Need to burn.”

“On that note! Lio, I’d never started a fire before you, not even with my matches! And I don’t plan on starting any other ones! Think on _that_!”

But after some time has passed, Lio shakes his head. His will isn’t strong enough to take back his hand, but he declares, “Trusting you is different from loving you.”

“… Yeah? Is it?” Galo’s grinning.

“… Sh-Shut up, I can’t believe I just said that…! It’s because you’re distracting me by holding my hand…!” Now he does yank it away. Galo’s expression falls, but he pushes on, “Fine, maybe you’re right that my life means something, but what about my reputation and yours, and what about all the crap I’m carrying around inside me? I lost myself to my rage _once_ and turned into a dragon that nearly leveled a city-state, if _you’ll_ remember! For good and bad reasons, people hate me, want me and anything I care about dead! If you’re with me, you’ll probably get hurt, I may end up hurting you…!”

“I don’t care what anyone besides you, the rest of my squad, and the Burnish think of me anymore. Not really. This whole time, we were all wrong about you. If people are still too idiotic to see that, then I’ll keep saving you, like you saved me, as many times as it takes. That’s my duty anyway, as a firefighter with a burning soul, even if I weren’t in love with you. No one and nothing can take me down, not even the end of the world!” “And Lio, you won’t hurt me, and even if you do, I’ll know it wasn’t because you meant to. I just showed you, you’re not that kind of person. Not to bring up bad memories or anything, but when you were the dragon, you weren’t angry, you were really hurt, weren’t you? Don’t think I didn’t notice, you were alone. And I heard later that you got hit by Freeze Force, you were trapped in a volcano for a while…” Galo takes his hand back just as gently as before, but this time, he squeezes it once. “… I’m really sorry I didn’t get to you before that. That it had to come to that in the first place. For everything.”

Lio refuses to look at him as he blinks back some tears. Then, Galo starts, which throws him off in turn.

“Also! I’m not made of glass or anything, and quit acting like it’s all sunshine and rainbows up here! Like, yeah, I know I’m tall, dark, and handsome!” He beams, briefly, winks. “And I’m the Universe’s #1 Firefighting Idiot, and I was one of the _two_ people that ended up saving everyone!” Then he becomes somber. “But even though the things I’ve been through will _never_ be as bad as what the Burnish have gone through, I let a guy trick me my whole life. He was my dream, and I loved him, but he killed my parents. I still don’t know which would be worse: If he meant to, or the fact that he didn’t (because I do believe that). And he hated me, and he wanted me dead, and he tried to kill me multiple times… and I still don’t know why. Like, I don’t know what I did besides exist that caused him to hate me. And most importantly of all, he was hurting and killing other innocent people behind my back, possibly with my help.”

“Galo…” Lio squeezes his hands back, trying his best to return his warmth to him. He doesn’t deserve to be cold because of that thot, that bastard, not ever. “… I don’t blame you for not knowing. I know now that you couldn’t have known better. You know that, right?”

His eyes widen. Then he’s smiling, although both it and his eyes are a bit watery. “Ah, yeah. Thank you.”

“Anyway, it’s like you’ve always told me: In some ways, we’re not so different. And I know that, through spark and flame, _you’ve_ got _my_ back, too. When we work together, we’re unstoppable.”

Then he runs a hand through his hair and starts to grin. “C’mooon, by now I could’ve said all this in a PowerPoint…! ‘In summary…’ Trust me again! Trust my judgment, Lio! _And_ trust yours, like I trust you!” He lowers their hands slowly, then unclasps them so he can present a fist to him. “Like I said, I’ll be yours if you’ll be mine. Stay with me, and let’s bring back the Lio de Galón!”

Lio hesitates, still. He really does. It’s not in his nature to endanger people, this idiot knows that. And he hates being vulnerable, even without the overhanging sense of danger that now accompanies that.

But he is right. The strongest they’ve ever been - and they only ever became stronger – was when they were fighting as one. Besides, he is weak-willed, and if anything, he can get out if he sees he’s getting him in too deep.

Unfortunately, besides more abstract ideas like freedom and general desires like protected jobs for the Burnish, Galo is the only thing he’s ever wanted. If he’s willing to go so far for him and wants him too (damn it all, if he’s one of the only thing that keeps him warm from the inside out like his Promare did…) … then how can he refuse the both of them, debt or not?

So Lio smiles at him, shining like a star, and he fist-bumps him. “Alright, Galo, you’ve won me over for now. Let’s bring back the Galo de Lión as well. But, this time…”

He blinks as Lio stands on his tiptoes and, so as not to hurt his scarred arm, reaches around it to pull him to him by his shoulder and chastely press their lips together. It’s a spark, a promise.

“HAH?! Lio, you beat me to it?! You little –!” Galo stammers as he blushes violently. Good, he deserves that for how much he’s been throwing him off today.

Mutual attraction – love – looks good on him, Lio decides.

“… let’s go for a REDUX, for both of them.”

**Author's Note:**

> ~ For anyone who does follow me [lol], this is 1 of 2 final fics I'll be posting on here: I learned a couple of months ago that AO3 allows people to post ship fics of real-life minors, like YouTuber Tubbo. Even if that isn't illegal depending on where you are, it's quite creepy to me, so I don't want to continue acting like I support a platform that in turn supports that by continuing to not ban it. I'll be taking my fics with me, and I'll give you more details when I publish that 2nd fic.
> 
> ~ Please, check out the Inspired by! It's a commission I got of this fic before I wrote it, from Piecesofarose herself!! It's so, so, so awesome! I'm getting it printed and framing it, I love it so much!!  
> ~ Galo talks more in this because a) Lio doesn't seem to talk as much as him, b) I definitely don't, and c) Galo's my favorite because I probably relate to Lio too much.  
> ~ If I were to have a fetish, it'd be for pointy teeth.  
> ~ I'm really sorry, I tried to lean more on the nonverbal side of writing and I think it came out awkward... The word "expression" will haunt me for the next week, as will phrases involving eyes...  
> ~ Yeah, they're both on the verge of crying all the time when people show them genuine affection, what about it? /jk Seriously, I know Galo never acted insecure around Forethot, but what he did to him's gotta get to a guy eventually, right? And Lio's got his baggage, of course, justifiably.  
> ~ I forgot to have Galo wax poetry at some point about how he likes how beautiful Lio is, but their appeal for me never started with their looks, so that's probably much more fitting.  
> ~ I don’t support Hamilton (you can Google why that might be), but Angelica’s “You forget yourself” has lived in my head rent-free since I saw a clip of it on YouTube.  
> ~ I have a size S Galo Munyu now, and his nickname is Gallito, which translates to small chicken. Enjoy that :)


End file.
